


All I Want Is You

by ofself



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-19
Updated: 2014-11-19
Packaged: 2018-02-23 03:34:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2532572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofself/pseuds/ofself
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Things Stiles knows are not possible - 1) him falling out of love with Derek and 2) Derek being his boyfriend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All I Want Is You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [leetje](https://archiveofourown.org/users/leetje/gifts).



> 1\. Many thanks to seraphina_snape, my beta in a pinch. If you spot any mistakes, they are on me. 
> 
> 2\. Diverges from canon after season 3B. 
> 
> 3\. Warning - A character behaves in a slightly coercive manner towards Stiles. Stiles is not seriously affected, however he does feel uncomfortable and annoyed. If you find the act of coercion triggering, please do tread lightly.

Stiles chooses a college based on how close it is to home.

He could have had his pick but he’s not ashamed of the fact that he wants to be close to his dad. Most people in Beacon Hills seem to drop dead like flies and Stiles refuses to have his father be one of the casualties. Not when he’s worked so hard to keep him alive.

If he’s close by, he can always run back at the first sign of supernatural shenanigans and though his father is a mean shot and has proven that he can kick supernatural butt, Stiles is not going to take any chances. He’s just not.

His dad has tried talking to him, has asked him to make a choice based on reputation or curriculum but Stiles is firm. An education is not as important as an alive parent is. Stiles knows on some level that he is being paranoid but honestly, he’s only got one parent left and he’s going to be as cautious as he can, thank you very much.

Also, he knows his dad is never going to say it, but he too is glad that Stiles is close to home.

He picks Berkeley on the sole merit that it’s a 50 minute drive away if Stiles follows all the rules and a 20 minute drive if Stiles hares down the roads without a thought for traffic rules. Which he will do if there is an emergency of the supernatural kind.

His dad is pleased and kind of proud too because Berkeley is where his mom went. He grips the back of Stiles’ neck and hugs him close, telling him his mom would be so proud. Words are not really possible after that. The wounds of loss are still too raw and the Stilinskis are champions at not being able to talk about feelings and emotions without hurting a few muscles.

-

Stiles loads up the jeep and waits for his dad and Scott, both of whom are finishing up shifts at their respective jobs.

He’s idly tapping away on his phone when a particular noise makes his ears perk up with attention.

The Camaro comes to a halt, close to his jeep and out steps Derek Hale, looking like a slightly less angry and a softer version of the first time Stiles saw him.

“Derek,” Stiles hums, irrationally pleased to see him here just before Stiles leaves for college.

“Stiles.” Nowadays, Derek’s smiles are mostly small quirks of the lip but they are far better than the old Derek he knew, who always had a stoic, defeated expression.

Stiles hoards these small emotions and smiles as if he were a dragon hoarding treasure.

“All packed and ready to go?” Derek gestures at the jeep.

“Yep. I’m on my way to college. And parties. And casual hook-ups which may or not bolster my self-esteem.”

Derek frowns.

“Ha. I fooled you. I’m actually off to a land of scholarly pursuits which has a severe lack of parties and hook-ups.” Stiles want to curse himself. As always when confronted with the sight of Derek who is as beautiful as he is sad, Stiles looses track of what he wants to say. Like something that will make him look carefree and young and oh so very attractive to Derek.

Truth be told, Stiles wants to say something that will make Derek look at him like he’s a viable romantic option, someone worth loving.

Because that’s how Stiles feels about Derek. He loves him.

And he will never say it out loud because Derek has never once even mentioned seeing Stiles in a romantic light. And Stiles is okay with that. Mostly okay, if he's being honest.

He pines but he can live with it. Derek is not the first emotionally and physically unattainable person he has fallen in love with (refer: Lydia Martin and Stiles from age 10 to 16). He will probably be the person Stiles falls in love with last however.

“I’m sure there are plenty of hook-ups and parties in your future,” Derek says solemnly, with a hint of tightness around his eyes. “You’re attractive, you know.”

“Thanks…I guess.” Stiles would probably believe it if it came from someone other than Derek Hale.

Interesting fact about Derek Hale: he doesn't do compliments because they make him strain muscles.

“You should come by some time. And I’ll be a good host and take you to all the cool places.” Stiles winces at his blatantly transparent excuse to get Derek to come visit him. But faint heart never won a fair… _lad_ and Stiles will take his chances.

“I will.” Derek smiles faintly at him.

“I wanted to go to Berkeley, too,” Derek shares jerkily, not looking at Stiles directly. “ I had decided on Linguistics. But then…” Derek trails off and Stiles doesn’t need him to say anything else to fill in the blanks. He knows what happened after.

What he does not know is how to respond to this. Luckily, he is saved by the arrival of his dad and Scott.

“I’ll get going. See you around, Stiles.” With a small wave, and a nod to the sheriff and Scott, Derek is gone.

Stiles has to bite back his own offer of asking Derek to come along. Another time maybe. 

-

Stiles chooses to live in a dorm because it seems like one of those college things you do. His dad chooses to march in armed with his pillow, with his badge and holster clearly in sight and Scott and Stiles trail behind meekly.

Stiles knows his dad did this on purpose. He probably did it to intimidate the other students so that nobody tries to haze him or mess with him. All the other students look kind of awed and frightened by the sight of a sheriff walking down the corridor.  

They get everything set up in half an hour or so. Honestly, there isn’t much Stiles brings. He just has clothes, a few knickknacks, a few of his games and comic books and that’s about it.

Even though Stiles is not far away, and he knows that and his dad knows that and even Scott knows that, goodbyes are hard. A few tears are shed, mostly by his dad. If things had been different, maybe his mom would have been here too, saying goodbye to him along with his dad. 

His dad is the first one to leave. Not by his own volition though. There's a domestic dispute call that needs looking into. The sheriff hugs Stiles tightly and with a warning to be good, is gone.

Scott on the other hand lingers awhile. Stiles is stupidly grateful for that. 

Scott cannot leave Beacon Hills, because that would mean Beacon Hills being left wide open for all sorts of supernatural monsters of the week. With newly-minted alpha powers come great responsibility. Luckily, Scott does not want to go far. Like Stiles, he too has one parent left and he takes Mrs. McCall’s safety seriously.

Scott is the only one from the pack who’s staying behind. And Derek. He and Scott are the only ones in Beacon Hills. Oh, and Malia too. Scott is trying to re-integrate Malia with the world and Derek is alternatively clucking over her (his cousin and all) and brooding over her being Peter’s spawn. Thankfully, Malia is more like Derek than Peter. She and Derek get along because they are blunt, don’t like talking and enjoying scaring people off.

Lydia is soaking up the atmosphere at MIT, Allison and Isaac are in France along with Mr. Argent, further fine-tuning their skills as a hunter and a werewolf respectively and Kira is in New York, studying at NYU.

-

For the next two weeks, he has the room to himself. His roommate will be joining late. Stiles hopes it’s a decent guy who is harmless and keeps to himself.

He puts his things away and tries to make this tiny room feel a little more like home. Of course it’s not possible but when he puts the covers on his bed, sets up his desk and books and laptop and does up his side of the wall, the room looks a little better.

At around 7, he goes down to the dining hall, marvels a little bit at the whole college scene and makes his way back up. Classes don’t start for another two days and Stiles has no place to be tomorrow but new scenes are always different and there are one too many people milling around for Stiles to feel at ease.

He goes back up and surfs the net for a while, getting lost in a maze of Wikipedia articles that begin with Romanian vampires and end with Maori tattoos. A good few hours pass entirely like that and it is only when his phone pings at around 11.30 at night that Stiles is drawn out his article-reading stupor. One ping is followed by 7 or 8 pings in succession and Stiles panics.

He's not even been gone for a full day and Beacon Hills is already under attack?

His fears prove to be unfounded and the multiple texts are from his dad and the pack.

His dad wishes him good night and offers him love and hugs. Stiles texts back accordingly, with love, hugs and an admonishment to eat healthy.

The pack just wants to know how he’s doing. He shoots off a mass message about how everything is fine before individually talking to all of them.

Lydia is doing great and is enjoying being among people who understand her. Allison and Isaac send pictures of them training and also posing gleefully before the Eiffel tower. Scott talks about this family of kittens that he rescued from the roadside and everybody spends a collective few moments cooing over them.

Kira is having a fantastic time at NYU and keeps sending pictures of herself with food, people and statues.

Derek is monosyllabic, but that is to be expected. However, he does send a picture of some muffins and cupcakes that he’d baked over the weekend.

Before Stiles falls asleep, Scott makes them promise to all join in for a Skype group chat/pack meeting sometime next week.

Stiles dutifully promises to be there. Scott is very strict about pack meetings. Attendance is compulsory. But he does not have to threaten anyone into attending because all of them like meeting up and goofing off anyway. Pack is family too after all.

Stiles expected his first day away from home to be lonely but with his family and pack only a ping away, he doesn’t feel so alone.

-

The first two weeks of college are pretty nice.

He picks the same major his mother did: economics. That had brought on a fresh round of muffled emotions from his father. Economics had always been something he enjoyed despite his infamous essay on circumcision.

He avoids the social side of college militantly. There are plenty of parties and keggers that are happening and Stiles is invited to them but he politely declines. Once upon a time, Stiles would have been all over the college scene, ready to throw himself headfirst into college and all of its associated experiences.

Now however, he just feels drained. Once you’ve been a host to a 1000 year old demon and consequently gotten rid of it, you kind of feel like your strings have been cut.

It’s a scary thing, not to have your body or your brain belong to you. What is actually worse however is to have your friends and family look you with concern and worry, not sure if they can trust you, and wanting to so badly to trust you.

Parties and alcohol make Stiles feel like he’s being someone he’s not. So he avoids them and sticks to the kind of parties he enjoys, which is to say he makes plans to meet up with people and spend the night gaming, or do something like bowling or play board games. It may seem a little childish but it helps reinforce the idea of normalcy that Stiles so desperately craves.

All in all, college is pretty okay.

-

Stiles does expect to be a little lonely. He’s not made any friends and he does not go out much. However, his dad and Scott keep dropping by so often, Stiles sometimes forgets that he’s not at Beacon Hills. He’s been here all of two weeks and they’ve already been down 5 to 6 times. Also even if Scott and his Dad are not around, he’s always texting someone or the other from the pack. So loneliness kind of becomes a moot point.

But pining is a whole different ball game.

Remember that oh-so casual invitation to visit he tossed out to Derek? Yeah, Derek still hasn’t taken him up on it. He seems to have forgotten Stiles’ invitation to come visit and though Stiles tells himself he’s not going to think about it, he does and he feels bad about it. So much for being moderately brave.

Derek still sends monosyllabic text responses and pictures of baked goods so there’s that. And besides only two weeks have passed. Maybe Derek will come at the end of the month. Try telling that to the butterflies in his stomach however. Stiles irrationally expects every person coming in through the door to be Derek. A flash of a leather jacket around the corner makes his heart rate go through the roof.

Stiles is supposed to be trying to move on. However, since Derek coming to say good bye, he’s been doing a shit job of trying to move on. Truth be told, sometimes he wants to move on; sometimes he just wants to pine and hope. Derek’s little confession about wanting to be at Berkeley too makes Stiles’ imagine how it would be to actually have Derek here.

Would Derek spend time with him or would he find new friends? What would his major be? Would having Derek at Berkeley mean that Stiles has a snowball’s chance in hell with him? Stiles knows no such thing is actually going to happen. He also tells himself that there’s no way Derek’s ever going to visit. If he does not expect anything at all, there’s a lesser chance of being hurt right?

-

The first sign of trouble at college comes from his roommate.

His roommate is not the problem per se. No, Steve is actually pretty nice. Very chill, very calm, keeps to himself and oh, can turn into a werewolf.

Other than a potentially calamitous first meeting, Steve is ideal.

Steve comes on a Sunday, when Scott is simply chilling out with Stiles on his bed. He enters the room and Scott is up and off the bed in a second and Steve drops his stuff and assumes a defensive stance.

Stiles kind of wants to cry. There really is no escaping the supernatural, is there? He does not do anything however because, well, for one, Scott is shielding him and two, he has no place in this turf war.

Scott flashes his eyes once, twice before Steve loses the defensive posture. Minutes tick by and Stiles can literally feel the air in the room become suffocating.

“So…” Stiles begins awkwardly. “That was fun and not at all weird.”

“Hey, man, I’m Scott,” Scott introduces himself.

“And I’m Stiles.”

“I’m Steve. Nice to meet you.” Steve sheepishly runs his hand through his hair.

“Sorry about that man. Whatever that was.” Stiles turns to look at Scott who shrugs his shoulders amiably.

“Naw. It’s cool. You’re his pack and your safety is his responsibility. I understand where you are coming from.”

Scott beams at Steve and Stiles heaves a sigh of relief. Things are going to be okay after all. Steve brings in the rest of his things and then Scott and Stiles help him set up his side of the room. There seem to be a quantity of posters which alternately extol the virtues of surfing and weed.

“Did you say your name was Stiles? What kind of a name is that even?”

“It’s the name you get when nobody, not even your parents, can pronounce your real name.”

\--

As things go, Steve is okay. He’s from a pretty big pack which is located somewhere near Los Angeles.

He’s doing the whole college shebang because his alpha (his grandma by the way) insists that all her young pack members get to experience life beyond the pack.

He’s a little dumb but sweet and that is all that matters to Stiles. They become pretty good friends and Steve tells Stiles all about growing up in a big rambling pack and Stiles furiously takes notes because there is never going to be an opportunity like this again.

Derek is the only born wolf among them and it’s not like he can happily share stories about his childhood, not without going into a catatonic state of grief. Side note: Stiles is going to ask Scott to suggest a little therapy to Derek. The dude could use it. Stiles could tell Derek himself but he does not see that conversation going well.

Stiles in return tells Steve about Beacon Hills and how it’s a magnet for all things supernatural. He tells Steve about their little dysfunctional pack and how things started out rough (such an understatement) but how things are pretty awesome now because they’ve discovered the concept of team work and trust.

Steve is mystified to learn that they are all scattered far and wide.

“Scott wanted us all to get away. We haven’t really been teenagers for the past few years. Going to college is one way of bringing some normalcy back.” Stiles only tells Steve a sanitized version of events because he does not want to scare the poor boy away.

“Your alpha is a wise one.” Steve says and Stiles grins, because yes Scott is a pretty great alpha now, though no one would have known it had they seen him at the beginning.

Because Stiles is a little lonely (no Scott 24/7 is a hard life) and Steve is a little lonely (big pack, first time away), they quickly become friends.

They game in their spare time, watch movies and TV shows, talk about their packmates at length ( Stiles tries not to talk about Derek as a rule, but he does so anyway and does not even realize he’s talking about Derek) debate the merits of fast food and occasionally get high together.

Time passes like this and since there is no supernatural emergency at Beacon Hills, Stiles is able to enjoy the first few weeks of college uninterrupted. All in all, life is fantastic.

That is until Steve’s pack mates’ visit.

It all goes to shit from there.

-

Again, Steve is not the problem. Steve is sweet as they come.

His pack mates kind of are. More specifically one particular pack mate.

This guy’s name is Brad (a douchenozzle name if there ever was one) and he seems to take a liking to Stiles.

At first Stiles brushes it off as no big deal. He even humors it because it’s very flattering to be attractive to someone. But over the span of two days (Friday and Saturday), the attention goes from being fun to being suffocating. Wherever Stiles turns, there is Brad, making some sort of smirky face that makes Stiles intensely angry.

And Steve seems blissfully unaware of Stiles torment, caught up as he is with his other pack mate Lola. Lola and Steve are clearly gaga for each other and while this is fantastic news, it means that they are both oblivious and Stiles is stuck with Brad.

Stiles tries to communicate his lack of interest vaguely at first, politely next and un-subtly last of all. None of it seems to have any impact to Brad though.

“I know you like me. I know we can be good together. Just give me a chance, Stiles.” He tells Stiles all of this so earnestly that it makes Stiles want to scream.

Stiles also does not know how to tell Steve without hurting him because the entire week before Lola and Brad came to visit, all he could talk about was them. Lola this, Brad that, how awesome they both are, how Stiles would love them and how amazing everything was going to be.

If they were only going to visit for one or two days, Stiles could grit his teeth and go on. But Brad cheerfully tells him they are going to be around for a week or so and Stiles thinks Scott better come fast to rescue him or he’s going to commit murder and that’s going to make his dad sad.

On Monday after classes, Steve takes them all to IHOP. This is less because he wants them to eat and more to appease Lola who loves pancakes (which they apparently don’t get enough of at home).

This is where Stiles decides that it’s time for desperate measures. He needs a fake boyfriend for the remainder of Brad’s stay there. Stiles is going to call in every favour Scott owes him (and Scott owes him some pretty big favours, just so you know).

He clutches his stomach, ignores Brad’s look of concern and makes a determined beeline for the restroom.

He calls Scott from the confines of a bathroom stall. The conversation goes something like this, with an extra helping of hysteria.

“Please be my boyfriend.”

“Okay. But for what?”

“Steve’s pack mate Brad keeps asking me out and he _won’t.take.a.hint._ HELP ME. Before I commit murder and start a full scale pack war. I don’t even know if pack wars are a thing but if they, are then we are in big trouble, Scott.”

Okay, Stiles may have exaggerated how hysterical he was.

“What kind of werewolf is named Brad? And when do I need to be your boyfriend?” This is why Stiles loves Scott. No one gets him like Scott does. No one.

“Right this instant?”

There is silence across the line.

Stiles heart sinks.

“I can’t make it, Stiles. I’m tied up this week at the clinic. Deaton is off somewhere mysterious and I’m in charge. But don’t worry. I’m sending Derek. Things are going to be okay, Stiles. There will be no pack war and Brad won’t bother you anymore once Derek is done with him.”

“Are you crazy?” Stiles yells and proceeds to hyperventilate down the line.

This would be a fantastic plan if the circumstances were different, but Stiles does not think he can have Derek pretend to be his boyfriend, not when Stiles has wanted Derek to be his boyfriend since forever except you know, Derek doesn’t like him as much and doesn’t want to be his boyfriend.

Besides who even knows how long this charade will go on. What if Stiles blurts out his feelings at some point and sends Derek running for the hills? This is exactly the kind of situation that tends to blow up in a person’s face.

“You should give Derek a chance, Stiles. I think you’ll be really surprised.” Scott is so earnest, he’s almost breaking Stiles’ resolve about why this is such a bad idea. “If Lydia were here, you know she would have come. Derek is going to be an excellent fake-boyfriend. Just give him a chance.”

There is no way that this won’t end in disaster. But for once, there is just no alternative. Except death, but that’s too extreme.

“Fine. But when this blows up in our faces, you know who I’m blaming. Hint: it’s going to be you.”

But none of this grumpiness affects Scott. He signs off with a cheery reminder to be positive.

Stiles grumbles. Scott can afford to be positive because he does not have a werewolf hitting on him currently.

Brad isn’t bad. He’s even sort of cute in a douche-y frat-bro kind of way, all blonde and built and preppy. But his refusal to take a hint or even no for an answer makes Stiles feel uncomfortable.

Stiles is very much against being forced into anything.

-

On Tuesday evening, they are hanging out in the dorm room and Stiles is wishing for the sweet release of death because he is listlessly sharing space with Brad on the bed and has been listening to him talk about surf wax for the past hour. Somebody should give Stiles a medal. For being patient and suppressing murderous urges.

At around six in the evening, when Stiles is contemplating manslaughter and Brad is talking about how werewolves can build more muscles (do they even need more is the question), when there is a precise knock on the door and in walks Derek in all of his leather jacket-wearing broody glory. 

Its go time.

“Hey, babe.” Derek looks like a perfect dream, a charming smile on his face, with his stupidly cute bunny teeth peeking out.

Stiles immediately jumps up from the bed, unsure for all of two seconds before he practically jumps on Derek and plants a kiss on his cheek.

Miraculously enough, Derek goes with the program and encloses him in a hug that is less bone-crushing and more comforting.

Stiles feels so weird and yet so good.

In the ensuing time, Steve, Lola and Brad too have stood up and awkward silence reigns around the room.

Stiles cuts through the silence like it never even existed and introduces all of them to Derek and Derek to them.

Steve is the first person to react.

He moves towards Derek with a sunny smile and goes, “Hey, man, it’s nice to finally meet you. Stiles talks about you a lot.”

Stiles jaw drops open because that is a blatant lie.

“Does he now?” Derek turns to him and gives him a small smile while Stiles smiles back at him with a frozen smile.

Shit. In retrospect, he really does talk a lot about Derek. And Steve has picked up on that. Sure, he talks about his dad and his friends but sweet baby Jesus, he didn’t realize that 60% of his chatter revolved around Derek.

“Yeah, man. He talks about you a lot. All good of course.”

Stiles wants to die while the smile on Derek’s face grows. Somebody kill him now. And somebody please make Steve shut up.

Thankfully or rather unfortunately, Brad chooses to step forward at that moment with a tight smile.

“So are you Stiles’ friend?”

Before Stiles can answer, Derek does.

“No. I’m his boyfriend.”

It’s like a bomb has been dropped. Lola looks awed and Brad looks mutinous. Only Steve looks like he’s been expecting this. It’s probably because of all that he heard about Derek from him. God, he must have come across as so lovelorn to Steve.

Stiles can’t even begin to imagine the mortification he’s going to feel when Steve finally figures out the pretend boyfriend shtick and discovers that Stiles and Derek is just a one way love street with Stiles as the invested party and Derek as the oblivious party.

“He never told me he had a boyfriend.” Brad honestly looks like a spoilt kid who has been denied candy and is now working his way up towards a tantrum.

Stiles cringes and Steve turns to look at him, a little hurt by this while Lola does not know whether to look amused or offended.

Once again, Derek saves the day. “That would be my fault. We aren’t official as yet. In fact, that’s why I came here. To make things official. I just wanted his dad’s permission first. He’s the sheriff of Beacon Hills you know.”

“That’s so sweet of you!” Lola gushes, beaming at Derek. Derek smiles back looking so perfect and unreal that if Stiles did not know better, he would think Derek was actually being genuine.

That is one more nail in the coffin that is his heart. That Derek is probably never actually going to be like that with him.

He’s also surprised that no one caught Derek out on the lie. But Derek is older and is more experienced than Brad and Steve and Lola.  That is why he can probably cover up his lie.

“Yeah, Derek’s fantastic that way.” He aims a full smile at Derek, who smiles back at him softly in a way that really kills him.

Stiles kind of expects Brad to be a little more trouble and true to form, Brad does create more trouble. It’s probably unintentional though.

“I’m so sorry, Stiles. If I’d known that you already had someone else I would have backed off. I’m sorry I came off so pushy. It's just that you are really cute and smart and I thought I should not let this opportunity go. I know you tried to let me down politely but I just thought you were being shy. I never meant to be an ass.”

 _Oh.my.god._ Stiles feels like a jackass. Brad looks at him with beseeching sincere eyes and Stiles hurriedly responds to the apology.

“It's okay, man. It’s cool. No harm no foul. Haha. Ha.”

Gone are the douchenozzle vibes that Stiles used to get from him. Instead, Brad’s sincere apology makes him come across as a pretty decent guy, just one who doesn’t seem to realize when to quit.

If he had known that all it would take was mentioning a boyfriend or a girlfriend for Brad to back off then _goddamn_ , he would have just said so instead of calling Scott in a hysterical panic who in turn sent Derek here, who was primed and ready to be a fake boyfriend.

However, it turns out that this mess does not end here.

“Jesus, Brad, did you try to force Stiles to go out with you? Even when he said no?” Steve turns to Brad all angry and concerned. “He’s my bud, man. How could you do that? Not cool at all.”

“Yeah, Brad. This is how you scared away the last guy, too. By being too pushy,” Lola too chips in, leveling Brad with a stern gaze.

She then turns to Stiles. “I’m sorry about that. Brad’s not a bad guy. He’s just a little dense sometimes. “

Brad nods contritely.

She addresses Derek. “We hope we haven’t offended your pack. Please tell your Alpha that we mean no harm.”

Derek smiles graciously, as if to signify that all is right. It probably is.

“Also can you please not complain to our Alpha? If she hears of this, she’s never going to allow us to go away from home.” Steve is the one who says it but all three of them turn puppy dog eyes on Stiles and Derek, and Jesus, it’s not like they’re monsters or anything. No blood was shed, no tears were spilled. As far as encounters with the supernatural go, this is relatively tame.

“We won’t be complaining. I mean there’s nothing to complain about. So yeah, don’t worry about us. We’re cool,” Stiles says, smiling amiably at all of them and feeling so very relived.

He imagined a lot of horrific ways in which this scenario could go down. This particular scenario is actually pretty awesome.

“You know what? We should leave you two alone. Derek came here to tell you something and it got lost in this mess.” Lola turns towards Brad with a dirty look who looks suitably chastised.

“But why?” Steve asks, ever oblivious. God bless him. He might be another Scott.

“ _Because_ you moron. They need to spend time alone together. _They’re a couple_.”

“Oh, okay. I get it.” Steve winks at Stiles who is mortified. “The condoms are in my drawer.”

“Oh, god. Shut up, Steve. Just get out of here.” Stiles all but pushes him out. Derek is not laughing outright but his shoulders are shaking and his hand is covering his mouth. Splendid.

When Stiles does manage to shove them out of the room, Brad pops back in once again.

“Safe sex is good sex, you guys. Seriously, stay safe.”

Derek laughs outright at this. Stiles wants to cry. How did his love life become such a joke?

He throws himself on his bed in a fit of pique. No more being an adult for today. He wants to be a kid once more and have embarrassment mean nothing to him.

“Stiles?” He can feel the bed dip next to him. Derek is next to him, warm and solid as a rock. Stiles turns towards him.

“Sorry about making you come here. And, well, thank you for coming. I appreciate it. If I had known things were going to be so easy, I would have taken care of things myself.”

“We’re pack. Of course I came to help you.” Derek frowns down at him.

Stiles sighs heavily. Because of course Derek would come. It’s just that he wishes Derek would be here because he actually likes him, not because of his duty towards pack and because Scott said so.

“I don’t know why you keep thinking I don’t like you. _I do_.”

Stiles sits up with a start. HOLY SHIT. Did he say that out loud? Does his brain not have a filter? No wait, it doesn’t.

“I do like you, Stiles.” Derek repeats.” I like you a lot. Coming down here to be your boyfriend wasn’t a traumatic experience for me.”

“I know, I know. You are my friend. And you like me. And I like you.” Stiles smiles (a little tightly but it’s not Derek’s fault there is no romantic feelings involved, that’s all on Stiles), sits up and goes for a fist bump of sorts.

Except Derek does not raise his fist and Stiles fist lands gently on Derek’s chest and his right hand comes up to envelope Stiles fist, gentle and warm.

Stiles feels a blush bloom along his face.

“I like you a lot, Stiles.” Derek says once more, all solemn and intense.

“Yeah, bud, I get that. I like you too.”

“I don’t think you understand. I like you more than I like other people.” Derek frowns at Stiles and Stiles gets the feelings that he’s missing something here. Except he cannot quite figure out what it is.

“Yeah that makes sense.” Stiles nods. “I’m a part of your pack. So you’d like me more than you like people who are not pack.”

Derek flat out growls in exasperation.

“For someone so intelligent, you really are stupid,” Derek says, mouth pursed in a tight line.

“Hey, I am plenty intelligent, okay? And not stupid. I get that you like me. That you like me more than other people. Wait… _oh_. Yeah, okay – uh, wow. That uh, great…”Stiles trails off as Derek’s actual meaning hits him in the face like a hammer.

Holy. Shit.

Derek likes him. Likes him more than other people. Likes him in the romantic sense?

“Do you mean to say you like _like_ me?”

“Yes. I like _like_ you. And I wonder why sometimes.” Derek tries not to smile but does so anyway and Stiles basks in the light of that beatific smile.

“So when you said that you wanted me to be your boyfriend, you weren’t lying.”

“No, I wasn’t. Sometime this year, I did plan on asking you out so that I could woo you into becoming my boyfriend.”

“First of all, you are not a hundred. You don’t have to say woo. You could just dazzle me with your smile and I’d be sold. Secondly, why didn’t you say anything before?”

Derek smiles a small smile. “You were underage up until now and your dad asked me to wait until you were legal.”

“My dad knows?” Stiles is horrified. “But how could you tell him before telling me?”

“I didn’t tell him. He figured it out. I wasn’t as subtle as I thought.” Derek is embarrassed and oh god, he looks so cute, the tips of his ears all pink and a faint blush shading his cheeks.

Wait a minute.

“Derek, who else knows?” It better not be everyone else because oh god, that would be so very embarrassing.

“The rest of the pack does. Even Braeden,” Derek mentions, looking pained. “She was really cool about it though. But she does crack way too many jokes about it.”

“Wow. I am really stupid. How did I miss the signs?” Stiles is stunned.

“I text you pictures, talk to you and apparently spend a lot of pack meetings gazing at you with a ‘heart boner’. Isaac’s words. Not mine.” Derek actually looks a little constipated as he recounts this.

“Jesus fucking Christ.” Stiles flops back down. What a day this has been. He’d been expecting a fake boyfriend and a fake relationship and a little bit of angst. Not actually a confession that has him turning somersaults. Of happiness that is. Oh shoot. He forgot the most important thing of all and he sits back up in a hurry.

“Derek?”

Derek tenses like he’s expecting some sort of rejection. Nuh-uh. That is not happening on Stiles’ watch.

“I like you. I like _like_ you.” Stiles grins and watches as a truly luminous smile spreads across Derek’s face.

“That’s good to know.”

“That’s good to know,” Stiles parrots after him. “Kiss me now!” He demands imperiously.

Derek complies happily.

* * *

Comments are loue. 

 


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